The invention pertains to a profiled frame as a window frame and/or door frame of a motor vehicle door or lid with the characteristics set forth herein, a motor vehicle door or lid with such a profiled frame and a method for manufacturing such a profiled frame.
The state of the art regarding profiled frame doors, as well as the alternative punched shell doors, are explained in detail in DE 198 54 775 A1, to which reference shall be made herein as background. The profiled frame door according to this state of the art features a consistently identical built-in width of the profiled frame, with changes in the effective built-in width of the vehicle door implemented by means of add-on parts on the profiled frame. These add-on parts are mounted to the profiled frame in the final state, i.e. with the profiled frame completely formed.
A flange, which is tipped to a certain degree and at which a seal contact or attachment surface is fashioned, is integrated from the outset into the profiled frame, which is manufactured as a roll formed profile from flat strip material (DE 101 05 603 A1). This profiled frame is made of flat steel or flat light alloy. Where applicable, the flange is immediately trimmed to a shorter length than the hollow profile. In this context it is already known in the art to provide partial notches and trims in order to facilitate shorter bending radii or to correct changes in shape caused by the stretching process. This is the state of the art that the present invention is based on.
During roll forming, a profiled bar with a desired cross-section is produced from flat strip material, in particular flat steel, by several profiled roll pairs arranged one after the other and aligned differently. This profiled bar, which initially is produced from the coil as an endless product, is then cut to length after leaving the last profiling stage. The final product is thus a straight profiled bar with the desired geometry and the desired original length.
Right from the onset, the profiled bar is provided with appropriate contouring featuring seal contact surfaces and/or seal attachment formations or other profiles. According to the present invention, the contact surfaces and the attachment formations are in particular intended for seals, but they can also be used as an attachment or contact for other add-on parts.
The invention is based on the task to provide a profiled frame of the aforementioned kind which could be manufactured and installed in an even more optimal fashion. The same task applies to the further development of a motor vehicle door or lid, and to the embodiment of the manufacturing method known in the art.
The important issue is that the design of the profiled frame according to the invention adopts the basic hollow profile, which constitutes its foundation and is manufactured as a roll formed profile, from the state of the art, but that in doing so it also assign other functions, cross-sections and attachment possibilities to said hollow profile, especially at its ends, without increasing the complexity of its manufacture. On the contrary, by dividing the profiled frame into at least two separate profiles which are permanently and rigidly connected with each other, it is possible to achieve an optimal assignment of functions and requirements.